Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is a neglected chronic condition with a high burden of morbidity and mortality. It affects about 6 million people in twenty-one countries of Latin America, and has recently become a global health concern (1), especially due to immigration from endemic areas into the developed world. Cardiac arrhythmias are common in patients with Chagas cardiomyopathy and amiodarone has been widely used as an antiarrhythmic drug. Amiodarone has been recommended as the treatment of choice for all patients with sustained ventricular tachycardia (2). The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate the effect of amiodarone in arrhythmia patients with the cardiac form of chronic Chagas disease.

Searches was conducted in MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE and LILACS from the inception to December 2016. Studies regarding the use of amiodarone to treat arrhythmia in patients affected by Chagas disease were included, and the outcomes were arrhythmia, adverse effects and sudden death. Selection of articles and data extraction were made by two independent reviewers.

The database search found 378 articles but only 9 studies with 373 subjects fulfilled the eligibility criteria. The nine studies selected were composed of case series (two), crossover clinical trials (two), and clinical trials (five). Results showed that amiodarone reduced ventricular extrasystoles in all studies and ventricular tachycardia in eight studies. During treatment with amiodarone, patients in eight studies had side effects. Corneal microdeposits and gastric discomfort were the most common adverse effects present in studies. Three studies reported sudden death during follow-up.

Amiodarone seems to be an effective antiarrhythmic drug for Chagasic patients, reducing uncomfortable symptoms such as tachycardia. This information can be useful in the primary care context, supporting general practitioners to manage Chagas cardiopathy, mainly when specialized cardiologic consultants are not available.